Powder Blue Report

News, finance, politics, sports, and fun from the west coast

Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Lakers,It's Time to Drop the Hammer on....

Mitch Kupchak.It's obvious that he is in over his head at this point in time. Dr Buss,feel free to call Jerry West up and apoligize to him for running him out of town to Memphis. We need a real GM right now who has the experience. Every passing day brings more and more bad news. D Fish has opted out of his deal now. Let's see, I guess that leaves "the glove" Gary Payton and Deaven George on the team now(even though Shaq is under contract,I'm not counting on him being around anymore because it's obvious he doesn't want to be Laker anymore). Great, that's just a fine nucleus of players,NOT.

Hillary Kerry's VP ?????????

This makes all the sense in the world for the Clintons.Drudge is quoting an unnamed top Kerry source saying that "all the signs are pointing in that direction". This is a scary development, but one that if true in my opinion will only help solidify support for Bush. Sure Hillary will energize the female vote, etc, but she will energize the GOP base like nothing else could.This is a fascinating development in the campaign.

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

Tuesday Thoughts

As i was going through the news today,I am always struck when I hear democrats,specifically Hillary at a San Francisco fundraiser for Barbara Boxer,say that we need to recind the recent tax cuts for the "common good". Huh???? Excuse me Hillary, but the money I earn is my money and not the federal governments money. We are not under taxed in the US. What an amazing story.

Also we handed sovereignty back to the Iraqis yesterday. That was a great symbolic day for them if nothing else. We all know that security is still going to be a problem for them over there,but it was nice to see that we are keeping our word to them that we are not occupiers,but liberators. Their destiny is in their hands now.

I have mixed emotions about the Supreme Court's ruling that enemy combatants can now have access to the US Judical system. On one hand everyone deserves to get their due process and day in court if accused of a crime, but the people we have down at GITMO are not US citizens. They are enemy combatants. Are our soldiers now supposed to start reading the Miranda warning to all prisoners of war that we capture? Hard questions. I think the court has just muddied the waters

Sunday, June 27, 2004

Bush Futures????

I posted a comment a few days ago about the political futures market being a great predictor of future events and low and behold I found an article by none other than Larry Kudlow of "Kudlow & Kramer" fame and also star economist and member of the Board of directors of the Club for Growth that articulates this alot better than I did. Please take a look at the article from National Review.

John Kerry's Campaign is in for a Bad Week....

Oh my how the double standard/hypocracy wheel turns.Get ready everyone for fireworks this week in the John Kerry Campaign. It seems that what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Drudge is reporting that the same media that demanded sealed divorce records from now former Republican Senate candidate Jack Ryan of Illinois,are set to demand full release of John Kerry's very messy 1988 divorce. For those that aren't familiar with the Jack Ryan details,his divorce records say that his wife alledged that he wanted some form of sex in public at certain strip clubs(Bill Clinton eat your heart out!). Your about to see a media feeding frenzy that doesn't happen all that often,but when it does it is a sight to behold. The only question I have is if the media will have the guts to actually follow through with this.What a great start to the week!

Congratulations Adam & Melissa

Well,I'm back from an awesome three day weekend in Lake Tahoe.Everything was perfect,except I lost about $100 playing blackjack. I want to give props to the Nelson,Barnett,and Hagemeyer families for putting on a wonderful event.The scenery was beautiful,friends & family great and much more. It looks like we will do this all again in three months when Katie & Jonas say their "I do's" in Napa. I'm looking forward to that one too. For anyone reading this wanting a great wedding reception place,you couldn't do much better than Edgewood Country Club in Tahoe.What a place. I'm out

Thursday, June 24, 2004

A couple New Polls Out Today...

that show more of a Bush trend.First we had Rasmussen with a 2 point Bush lead,then Fox News with a six point Bush lead,and last we had Gallup showing Bush with a big improvement over their last numbers. If anyone out there has John Kerry's ear,please tell him that his campaign is on life support.

Screamin' Al Gore Is Back...Again

I have a question for all you liberals out there.I'm putting a fund together to help Al Gore's family pay for the insane asylum.How much can you guys pitch in? It's obvious he has lost all touch with reality.They might even just send him to some sort of anger management program to deal with his issues.Between his and Howard Dean's speeches,it's a wonder Kerry is even close right now.John "f..ing" Kerry has got to be cursing at himself right now and trying to figure out how to muzzle these idiots.I say,keep it up Al and Howard.The more America sees these speeches,the faster you'll slip into political oblivion.

Let's Go Out There and Win One For the Gipper

As i'm sitting here at my desk thinking of how we all can best honor Ronald Reagan,I got it.What if everyone took one Saturday a month out their busy schedule and volunteered for the local/county Bush Cheney 2004 team from now until election time to help Bush across the finish line a winner.It is going to take a huge effort to turn out our voters.The RNC has put together what they call the "72 hour task force" to mobilize voters during the last weekend before the Tuesday election.We plan to put together the biggest get out the vote drive that has ever been undertaken by a campaign.Everyone knows that the stakes couldn't be higher in November.Everything from security,taxes,judgeships,etc is on the table.A few votes in a few swing states is going to make all the difference.An added benefit is that working for the campaign is fun.You get to meet all kinds of new people and make new friends with people of like mind.

Good News is Bad News for Democrats

Bad news for democrats,new U.S. home sales leap to record high. John Kerry et al can't be very happy about all these positive economic indicators lately.I mean according to him we're in the worst economy since the Great Depression.All this good news is just not good for them.They were hoping to campaign on gloom and doom as always.

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

John Thune for Senate

As the election gets closer and closer,I am becoming even more optimistic about our chances to pick up some badly needed Senate seats so President Bush can get his judges confirmed.I figure there will be at least two Supreme Court vacancies during the next Presidential term if not three.It is very important to have a Republican Senate to break the democratic filibusters that they have been using.John Thune is a great candidate.He barely lost to Tim Johnson in an off year election in 2002.Tom Dascle has seen his best days already.It's time to send him back to home to his real home in Washington D.C,not in South Dakota where he pretends to be conservative the closer the election gets.Any donations for him would be greatly appreciated.

Club For Growth Candidates go 2 for 2...

Yesterday at the polls.This is exactly what the Club for Growth was formed to do.It bundles financial support to pro growth,free market conservatives over RINO candidates.In the case of David Beasley of South Carolina though,it was because of his protectionist views.In the Utah 2nd district race,John Swallow won the right for a rematch against Jim Matheson.John lost a squeaker in 2002 and seems in good position to win this seat back.He should get good coattails from Bush's upcoming winning margin in Utah.

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

UCLA Football Prospects(of lack thereof)

Well I guess it's time to go on record about my illustrious UCLA Bruins for the upcoming season.After all,I did name my blog after them.I'm afraid this is the season we are going to hit rock bottom.I really would like to believe that the glass is half full,but after reviewing this years recruiting class,player losses,coaching quotient,and a few other factors,one can only come to the conclusion that this season is going to be an absolute train wreck.They probably will be unwatchable.If the gutty little bruins can scrape a victory over USC then I would classify that as a good season for them this year.I'm not getting my hopes up though.

Demint Poised for Primary Win

It looks like based on today's latest poll that Jim Demint will defeat former governor David Beasley(R-SC) in today's South Carolina Senate primary.This is indeed good news.Chalk up a win for the good guys.Demint is a strong free market conservative.He will have a great shot at capturing this open seat for the republicans in the fall.

A Different Way To Look At The Horserace

Being the commodities/futures broker that I am,I believe that psychology is what drives the markets.When people feel strongly about a market,they wager money or trade on that information.There are now exchanges to take action on political races.One such place is called Intrade.
Right now based on current betting and trades,George W Bush has a 58% of pulling out a victory in November.This of course can change,but right now the so called "smart money" is on Bush.

Poll Fatigue

It's only late June and already I am getting poll fatigue.Each day brings a new rollercoster ride known as modern scientific polling.Today we saw The ABC/Washington Post Poll poll with Kerry 48%,Bush 44%, and Nader with 6%.Jeesh.I guess this is why I am addicted to watching this horserace.Everyday there is new information to factor.The best blog to view the horserace in my opinion is Real Clear Politics.

4th of July is right around the corner

So to honor those who have protected our freedom,I'm posting this link to past Congressional Medal of Honor citation recipients.Please take a few minutes to read some of them.They give me the chills everytime I read them.

Dodgers vs Yankees

This past weekends' games of the Dodgers playing the Yankees brought back alot of memories for me.First let me say that I used to be a Dodger fan through and through.I have not followed them too closely lately because quite frankly they suck! The last straw for me was when they traded Mike Piazza and then proceeded to sell the team to Fox.Now a guy from Boston named Frank McCourt owns the team? What's wrong with that picture? Anyway I remember vividly the two back to back world series that the Dodgers and Yankees played back in the late seventies'.I remember Mr. October Reggie Jackson hitting three bombs in one game to win the series and rip our hearts out.I remember "the rundown" where Steve Garvey threw the ball back to the second baseman and Reggie stuck his wide body in front of the ball and the ball then hitting him.Tommy Lasorda ran out to argue,but it was all for not.My,my how baseball has changed from those days.Anyone remember these guys?
And who could forget this moment in time

Monday, June 21, 2004

Privately funded Space Flight

Did everyone hear or see the news of the first privately funded space flight today? Things like this show the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the American people.Spaceship One pilot Mike Melvill was aiming to fly 62 miles above the Earth's surface and he just exceeded that goal, reaching 62.21 miles, according to radar data.At first I thought the story was a hoax,but then I saw the actual footage when I got home from work today.Truly amazing.Here is the link

My experience at the Reagan Library last week

I wanted to share with everyone here on the blog of my experience at the

Reagan Library.Ronald Reagan was my hero.He championed freedom and liberty more than any modern politician IMO.I left my house at 7:45pm .The drive to the library is about 100 miles from my house.My wife and I arrived at the staging area of Moorpark College at 12:30am this morning after waiting three and half hours just to get off the freeway.We got in the line for the shuttle at 1am this morning.At 6am we finally boarded the bus to the library.The five hour wait in line seemed to go by very fast as we made many new friends while waiting.At 6:20am we arrived in the rotunda where the President's body lay in repose.It really was a surreal moment and it was all I could do to hold back tears.The viewing lasted no more than two minutes.I will never forget this day as long as I live.Rest in peace Mr President.

Bubba's 60 Minutes interview last night

I didn't get to see much of it except for a few sound bites.I did read the transcript though.What a loser! Feel free to ask a tough question Dan.Everything is all about Bill.That guy is so selfish.I hear that Bubba did an interview with a guy from the BBC last week and it is scheduled to be aired this week sometime.In it Bill loses his temper when the subject of Monica is brought up.Poor bubba.He doesn't like it when someone asks him a tough question.Is anyone out there in blogville considering buying his book? I will not waste a dime on it.I would like to hear some feedback from anyone that does read it though.Maybe I'll read through some of it on my next trip through the bookstore for free.

Intrest rate trend

As many of you may know from looking at my profile,I am a licensed commodities broker with the National Futures Association.I just wanted to let everyone know that with intrest rates on the rise,there is a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of this by speculating in the bond market,the Eurodollar market to be more specific.If anyone would like to discuss this investment opportunity with me,I'd be glad to share a few minutes on the phone with you.The name of the firm I work for is called Excel Futures.Their phone number is 888 959-9955

Bush's latest surge in the polls

It's looking more and more like Bush is getting a nice "Reagan" bump in the polls lately.This couldn't have come at a more opportune time.The Harris poll is showing Bush up by ten points with likely voters and six points with registered voters.I still think the race is a dead heat,but the recent signs are positive for W.

Lakers are a mess

As the old C&R clothiers ad used to say,"what a difference a day makes",all I can say is wow.In one 24 hour period,the Lakers have given Phillip his walking papers,alienated Shaq to the point of him demanding a trade,Kobe saying he is opting out of his contract,Horace Grant retiring,and anything else that I forgot.It truly has been an amazing turn of events for the LA Lakers.Feel free to hit the panic button anytime now Mitch Kupchak or dial 911 and hope Jerry West answers the phone because this team is officially done for awhile.I used to joke about the Clippers being the lakers JV team,but now they might give the Lakers a run for their money for the right to call themselves the best team in LA.

Welcome everyone to the next Matt Drudge

Well I have finally gotten around to start my own blog.I figured it was timely since the 2004 elections are fast approaching.I will try to post a couple of times per day or as events warrant.I value any constructive criticism.By the way I named the blog after my favorite college sports team, UCLA.Their football uniform color is "powder blue",hence the name of the blog.